A text editor is a program that allows a user to open, view, and edit plain text files. Unlike a word processor, a text editor does not add any formatting to the text, instead focusing on editing functions for plain text. Text editors may be small and simple, while others offer a broad range of complex functions. Simpler text editors may just read files into the computer's main memory. With larger files, this may just read files into the computer's main memory. With larger files, this may be a slow process, and the entire file may not fit. Some text editors do not let the user start editing until this read-in is complete.
There is a need for a simple text editor capable of processing a large text file without the need for additional main memory.